Olympus IS-1 35mm Bridge Camera

[joelbolden]

Found this great camera at my local Goodwill; price $4.99. It was on the bulky side, but quite comfortable and the lens was a Zuiko 35-135 ED, so I thought I'd give it a try. Fell in love with it. Never heard of a film bridge camera before, but a little searching came up with the Ricoh/Olympus Madrai/AZ-4; which were really strange looking cameras. Olympus carried on with the IS, or L(depending on the country). It has P,A,S,M modes plus macro. It also sports spot focusing and a powerful, programmable flash....and so on. While using it, I was so impressed with it that I ordered the more capable IS-3dtx with it's 35-180 ED lens and more modes; which I've just finished putting a roll through. These pics are SOOC, Fujicolor Superia400.

 

[jcdeboever]

Kind of a cult following for those cameras. The glass built into those are exceptional performers as you can see in your images. They were ahead of the times in some respects.

 

[joelbolden]

I agree. I've switched from the IS-1 to the IS-3dtx, which is the most advanced camera in the IS series. Just sent the first roll in to be developed, but have a lot of confidence in the results; so much so that I've ordered the 1.7x converter for it that will increase the range to 300mm. The converter is highly regarded and I don't expect any loss in photo quality. Between this camera and the K3iii, I'm having a lot of fun with both sides of the spectrum.

 

[dxqcanada]

I remember selling those.
The test shots I did showed really good IQ.
The only reason it was a hard sell was due to its size.